Unknown Birthdays
by unrequitedexistence
Summary: Tumblr Prompt: Gail doesn't tell Holly that it's her birthday and turns off her phone for the day. Holly finds out.


Prompt: "Can you write something about Gails birthday? Maybe she and Holly are dating but Holly doesn't know when her birthday is. Her birthday is right around Thanksgiving so she doesn't even really mention it to people bc no one is ever free to celebrate it. Holly somehow sees when her birthday is and does something really sweet to celebrate it."

* * *

Elaine Peck had it all figured out. Gail was going to be a Christmas baby. She had actually done all the math to make sure the natural birth would occur so that her maternity leave fell around the same days she usually took off, every single year, to spend the holidays with her husband and son. There would be no need to ask for any extra days. It would be just like every other year. No need to fuss or anything. Everything was planned out so that it all went down smoothly.

Mission accomplished.

_Or not._

Little Gail Peck had _other_ plans. She was a rebel, right from birth. She chose to greet the world before time, right in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This decision ended up affecting Elaine's _plan to conquer the world_ \- that was what Gail liked to call her mother's career -, setting her back a year or so.

As you might have guessed by now, Gail Peck's little act of defiance didn't go by unnoticed. Of course you can't really blame it on her, she was just a baby, but the truth is that the story of Gail's birth has came up quite often when arguments about her insolence arise. Let's just say that tiny Gail learned that every action has its consequences extremely early in life. Even before she started talking.

Due to her lack of perfect timing, there was never a colossal party on her birthday for none of her parents could afford to take any other days off. Half had already been taken during Summer and then there was Thanksgiving, and the day before it for planning, and the rest was left for Christmas.

They had actually attempted a party at school once, they had hired specialized people and whatnot, but Gail had soon gotten rather tired of coming up with reasons and explanations for why her parents weren't there.

_"They are at work? What do you mean? Do they love it more than they love you?"_

Children had yet to work on their social filters. They said whatever came to their minds and, even though Gail always acted like their words didn't affect her, she always went home thinking. Oh, she knew that her parents loved her, but she was also very aware of the fact that they did indeed love their jobs and that they meant a lot to them. More than her? That was something she was not ready to find out.

That had been _the _day.

Gail had gone home from the party and had told her parents that she didn't quite understand why birthdays seemed to be such a big deal. She couldn't understand why people were celebrating getting a year older, a year closer to death. Or so she said. Or so she tried to convince herself of.

It had just been Thanksgiving and there was yet to be Christmas. What was the whole point of another celebration? Right...?

Sure, they still held family dinners. They did have cake. But as Gail grew up so grew her parents' responsibilities at work. At first, at least one would always try to make it home for dinner... but sometimes it just wasn't possible. And _sometimes_ became _most of the times_. And then, all of the sudden, dinner was replaced by a call that would be put through at 9 AM, sharp. Just another line to cross at the end of the daily schedule that stood impeccably on the fridge.

_Call Gail to wish her a happy birthday._

She had gotten the first call on her sixteenth birthday. That was the first and the last time she actually picked up the phone. It did ring on her seventeenth. As it did on her eighteenth. As it did on her nineteenth. On her twentieth birthday she decided to turn off her phone and see what happened. Steve appeared at her door, still on PJs, holding a phone out to her. And from then on, each year Gail came up with some new and improved idea about how to avoid all the phone calls from her parents. She didn't need them. Or so she said. Or so she tried to convinced herself of.

It was easier than to expect them to come and have them fail. _Again._

This is mostly why Gail Peck's phone rang at 7 AM on her day off. It was her alarm, yes, but she didn't set it to wake up so that she could get ready for work. No. Instead, she set it up so that she remembered to turn her phone off.

Why set an alarm clock and not turn it off before going to bed? _Holly_. She had fallen asleep while skyping her. This seemed to be _their_ thing when they slept apart. They always fell asleep whilst in the middle of a conversation about everything and nothing. They were _that_ comfortable with one another.

She had actually told Holly the night before that she was going to have quite a busy day at work and that she would probably not be able to see her till the next day. That was her excuse for having the phone off. Somehow she couldn't bring herself to tell Holly that her birthday was on the next day. Actually, the thought hadn't even crossed her mind in the first place. She was so used to spending it alone that it didn't seem like quite a big deal. And then Holly had told her not to worry for she too seemed to have quite a full agenda... it just didn't seem relevant.

They had been sort of dating, sort of officially, ever since the shooting. They had been spending most of their time together, which wasn't much, for everyone seemed to be going insane between festivities which meant more "customers" for both of them. Still, they usually tried to have lunch together, a coffee when one of them visited the other at work, and sometimes a drink at the Penny, followed by a sleepover if schedules allowed.

This is mostly why Holly found her clueless self at the Station. And, as life has one hell of a sick sense of humor, the first person she ran into was Steve. Steve _Peck_.

"Good Morning, Detective."

"Dr. Stewart. I mean, Holly, hello. What brings you to the slightly lighter side of the job?"

"Your sister, actually."

Holly couldn't help but smile at the expression that took over Steve's face. It was like he was trying too hard not to think too much about what the two of them were up to.

"Which is pretty ironic. She's a total Darth Vader." He replied once he found his way around the thoughts he wished to avoid.

"Who happens to be one of my favorite characters. I guess it's _meant to be_. Speaking of which, you know where I can find her?"

"In an alternative universe, probably. Far, far away, I am sure."

Holly raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"She took the day off."

"What? I could have sworn she told me yesterday she was going to have an extremely complicated day at work."

Holly reached for her phone. _No new messages._

"She didn't tell you, did she?"

He knew she hadn't. Holly had been looking for his sister and he had known that from the moment he had seen the brunette for she had hope written all over her face.

"Tell me what?"

By now Holly was clenching her files to her chest, focusing on her breathing as she tried to remain calm. What the hell was going on?

"It's her birthday. She always takes the day off for _personal reasons_. She finds birthdays socially awkward, or so she says."

"Her birthday? Today?"

OK, Gail wasn't sick. That was good. But it was Gail's birthday and the blonde hadn't told her. Why?

When Holly next heard Steve's voice she realized she was already in the middle of texting Gail.

"Oh, that will do you no good. She always turns off her phone to avoid our mother."

"Do you have any idea of where she is right now?"

Holly didn't really know what to feel... _how_ to feel. They hadn't discussed birthdays, that was true, but Gail's was _today_. They had spoken _yesterday_. Why hadn't the blonde told her? Had she forgotten? How does one forget such a thing? And why would she lie about her work day?

"Well, she's probably still in bed."

"I can't believe she didn't tell me about her birthday."

Her files almost flew to the floor as her arms fell to her sides in defeat.

"Don't take it the wrong way, Holly. No one truly knows but me. You two are so new... she probably just doesn't want to jinx it."

"By celebrating the fact that she was born?"

"By interrupting _normalcy_. She doesn't like to be the one to make the bus stop just for her to leave, you know? She doesn't want anyone else to be late for their lives."

Suddenly the conversation they had the night before came back to Holly. She had said that she too was going to have a full day.

_But there's always time for me to see you._

She hadn't said that out loud, had she? She thought it was implied. It _always_ was. Right?

"Do you have any idea of what she's going to be doing all day?"

"She will be avoiding our parents. That means she's safe home till about 7 PM. By then a visit is imminent which means she has to leave the house. She then usually goes to a movie marathon of some kind and then joins us all at the Penny after midnight. When it's no longer _her_ day."

"That's all? No big family dinner?"

"Too close to Christmas and Thanksgiving. They have already been too grateful about way too many things and the pretending to care season is about to start." Steve said on his best Gail-ish voice. "That's what she's going to tell you."

"Right. I will figure something out. Thank you, Steve."

"Good luck, Holly. And may the Force be with you. _Always_."

And with that Steve Peck walked away, leaving a half stunned Holly behind.

"And she calls _me _nerd."

Holly actually rolled her eyes before turning around and making her way out of the Station.

Deciding on letting Gail sleep, and her feelings settle, Holly is somehow able to stop herself from driving to the blonde's apartment and storming inside. Instead, she goes back to work and deals with a few of the things that were keeping her agenda for the day so heavy.

Holly was actually able to keep herself focused until around lunch time. That was when she started working on her plan of action. She sat in front of the computer, her personal one, and googled every single cinema in town to check what was on.

"Look at me, playing the detective." Holly said out loud to no one in particular. "Would you go watch something new or something old?"

Steve had sort of described Gail's day as a tradition. So she probably went for the very same thing every year... or at least the same concept.

"Oooh. Howard Hawks marathon. _His Girl Friday_ is going to be on. And _Bringing Up Baby_ too. And _The Big Sleep_!"

Holly called her boss as soon as she came across the information that the marathon started at around 7 PM. That was perfect timing. When her boss asked her why exactly she needed someone to cover for her she said that the reasons were quite personal and she preferred not to reveal them. Apparently _for personal reasons_ is quite a heavier expression when coming from someone who deals with death every single day. Apparently one just _doesn't_ ask questions when someone who deals with death for a living asks to leave early for reasons she wishes not to disclose.

"Do you mind if I sit?"

"You already... " Gail started talking even before looking up from the program she was holding. "Holly?"

"Happy Birthday, insufferable you."

Holly had practiced her annoyed face expression for the whole ride to the cinema but now, while looking at Gail, she just couldn't help but smile. The blonde was surprised to the point of blushing. She was truly not expecting company. Not expecting _her._

Holly had to confess it felt rather good to actually be able to surprise Gail with something... something _good_. She found herself giggling as she pulled out a pack of Cheese Puffs from her purse, a red ribbon tied around it.

"I am truly not sure you deserve them, but here you go..."

Gail usually kissed her ramblings away and Holly felt like kissing Gail speechlessness till she could actually taste the other woman's thoughts in her tongue.

These moments were rare. She could probably say that she was used to seeing Gail out of breath, but out of words...? Now that was something new. The blonde's face was as dried of masks as her throat of words.

She looked absolutely bare. Completely nude. And the view was breathtaking.

"Please remind me to surprise you more often."

"What... How did... how did you get past security with those? You're not supposed to bring stuff from the outside!"

Holly almost laughed out loud at Gail's comment. Of course that, from everything she had just seen, felt and heard, she had to comment on the damn Cheese Puffs.

"You're also not supposed to keep your birthday from your girlfriend."

If by then Holly was already convinced she had done the right thing, the moment she let out the word _girlfriend_ she realized that she couldn't really picture herself anywhere else but where she was.

"Touché. Thank you, _girlfriend_."

Gail leaned over and placed a gentle yet meaningful kiss upon Holly's lips before resting her forehead against the brunette's, allowing her eyes to remain closed for another moment or two.

"You are very welcome, _nerd_."

"What now?"

"Gail, you are spending your birthday alone watching a marathon of black and white comedies that most people don't know. Darling, you are a bigger nerd than I am." Holly stole another quick kiss, her hand on Gail's neck, playing with her short hair as she held her in place.

"First. I am not spending my birthday alone. Not anymore. Second, being a nerd has nothing to do with liking Hawks. That's just pure extraordinarily good taste. Now shush. It's starting."

"But you've watched it a thousand times already." Still holding Gail's face close to hers, Holly might have actually been pouting.

"But I have never watched it with you." Gail's hand came up to meet Holly's. The blonde laced their fingers before placing yet another kiss upon the brunette's lips.

"Oh, you are definitely a nerd. A lovable one, yes, but one none the less." Holly mumbled under her breath as she allowed her body to rest comfortably on her seat.

"Shut up." Gail said as she too looked for a comfortable position that would still allow her to hold Holly's hand. "Hey Holly?"

"Mmmmmh?"

"Thank you."

Gail opened her Cheese Puffs and set the package on her lap so that they both could eat from it.

She spent the whole time holding Holly's hand, her thumb caressing Holly's.

It took Holly a movie or two to realize that the blonde was actually drawing patterns on her skin. Letters, to be more exact.

_I love you._


End file.
